Inspection report: Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (R21/01593)

An inspection was conducted as part of ARPANSA’s baseline inspection program to assess compliance with the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998 (the Act), the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Regulations 2018 (the Regulations), and conditions of facility licence F0211.

The inspection consisted of a review of records, interviews, and physical inspection of the facility.

Background

PETTECH Solutions Pty Limited (a wholly owned subsidiary of ANSTO) formerly operated the 2 cyclotrons located at the Lucas Heights Science and Technology Centre, for the purpose of radiopharmaceutical production. This was licenced under the ARPANSA prescribed radiation facility operating licence F0211.

In August 2020, the ARPANSA CEO approved a request from ANSTO for F0211 to be reissued as a Possess or Control Licence. This reflected the fact that PETTECH had entered into a contractual agreement with Cyclotek NSW Pty Ltd whereby Cyclotek would exclusively operate the cyclotrons and PETTECH would continue to own the building, accelerators and equipment. Cyclotek are licenced under the New South Wales Environmental Protection Agency (NSW EPA) to operate the cyclotrons since they do not constitute a Commonwealth entity. Therefore, this inspection focussed on the ARPANSA licensed activities only (to possess or control the cyclotrons).

Observations

Key observations included the below:

• It was reported that no changes had occurred to the contractual agreement with Cyclotek or the effective control of the facility, which would require notification to the CEO of ARPANSA under licence conditions 5 and 6.
• No regulatory action had been taken by the NSW EPA, which would require reporting to the CEO of ARPANSA under licence condition 7.
• Plans were in place to conduct the required 3 yearly review against the relevant codes and standards for a licensed prescribed radiation facility in 2023 as required by licence condition 4.
• No significant changes were reported to have been made to the facility. The ARPANSA inspectors did not note any significant changes on the physical inspection of the plant also. Therefore, it can be concluded that compliance with licence conditions 1 and 3 is ongoing.
• The annual reporting requirements had been met for licence condition 2.

Findings

The licence holder was found to be in compliance with the requirements of the Act, the Regulations, and licence conditions. No areas for improvement were identified.